It seemed fitting that I share my PV with the group of artists I helped select for the exhibition on the second floor for the Graduate Artist’s Programme at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA).
It also meant the evening was busier than it might have been just for me on my own, and that my installation was seen by a new audience that might not otherwise have seen it, possibly a younger audience, who are used to viewing contemporary art.
It is good to be in a crowd where I can talk about the work without having to explain everything all the time.
It was a good evening. Busy but not overwhelmingly crammed. I had some good conversations, with people new to my work, and reconnected with people I hadn’t seen for a long time too.
My measure of the success of these occasions is always the quality of the conversation.
What makes a good PV conversation?
Admiration of the work (of course! We all want to feel good, right?); curiosity about the motivation for making it; feeling I have expressed myself coherently and articulately; humour; a sense of where the work came from and where it might go (geographically and physically as well as conceptually and developmentally); feeling an emotional connection with the viewer…
I could tick all of that list at the end of the evening, so I’m satisfied.
I firmly suppress the voice that is forever asking “What next? What next?”. I need a break from being up front and visible and productive. I need feeding now.
